The World Food Program (WFP) said it was optimistic about a UN-brokered deal to reopen Ukrainian ports to grain exports, but warned that the deal alone would not solve the global food crisis, even if implemented effectively.
Russia, Ukraine, the United Nations and Turkey signed an agreement on Friday to allow safe passage of ships entering and leaving three Ukrainian Black Sea ports that have been blocked by Russia since Moscow’s invasion of February, 24.
Ukraine and Russia are both major grain exporters and the port blockade has held millions of tonnes of grain in the country.
Along with Western sanctions on Russia, energy and food prices have soared, sparking protests in developing countries that depend on Black Sea grain.
WFP itself has had to cut aid this year at famine hotspots such as Yemen and South Sudan due to global inflation and critical funding gaps, both of which are exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine.
“We are optimistic that the agreement can lead to improvements in global food prices. Countries dependent on grain supplies from the Black Sea are likely to be the first to feel a positive impact,” a WFP spokeswoman told Reuters.
She added, however, that the current global food crisis is not just a price crisis, and that man-made conflict, climate shocks and the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to increase global food insecurity even as the Friday’s agreement is valid.
On Saturday, Russian missiles hit the port of Odesas in southern Ukraine, igniting a warning sign that the deal could be derailed a day after signing, although the Kremlin ruled that out, saying the strike was aimed only at military infrastructure. .
A senior Ukrainian government official said on Monday he hoped Ukraine’s first grain shipment could be made from Chornomorsk this week, with shipments from other ports mentioned in the deal within two weeks.
Before the conflict, WFP used to buy more than half of its wheat from Ukraine.
The agency, which was awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize, said some 47 million people face “acute hunger” this year due to the current global food crisis.
Source: CNN Brasil
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